Damaged ferry moved to shipyard
as city braces for wave of lawsuits

Published: October 18, 2003 8:00PM

NEW YORK (AP) A mangled Staten Island ferry, its flags at half-mast, was moved Saturday from the terminal where it rammed a concrete pier earlier in the week, a crash that killed 10 people and set up the city for an anticipated stream of lawsuits.

The first notice of claim against the city was filed Friday on behalf of a ferry passenger and her 7-year-old son, seeking $10 million, said Staten Island attorney Anthony Bisignano. Dinah Washington, 28, and her son Jalil claimed they suffered injuries from head to toe in the crash.

Attorney Wayne Cohen, representing the wife of Louis Robinson, a passenger who died in the crash, said Saturday his notice of claim on a $500 million suit was in the works.

This is the initial step, said Cohen, adding his papers will be filed Monday.

The promises of lawsuits came within four days of the crash, and before the National Transportation Safety Board had finished the investigation into its cause.

NTSB investigators completed the bulk of their work aboard the ferry, which sat near the Staten Island shoreline as they sifted through its twisted metal, splintered wood and broken glass, and are now increasingly focusing on the crew, particularly its pilot.

The NTSB issued a subpoena Friday seeking blood and urine samples from pilot Richard Smith to determine if he was taking prescription medicine on the day of the crash. The ferrys captain, Michael Gansas, told investigators that he saw Smith unconscious and slumped over the controls before the crash.